Freedom
by xXACCEBXx
Summary: Freedom's just another word for nothin' left to lose. Lilly finds out when she lets herself ride off into the sunset with a handsome almost-stranger. But maybe she does have something left to lose. Her heart. Nilly
1. Montana

**Recognize this story? You should. It got caught by those stupid Jonabots! Okay. Someone help me make this point. The Jonas Brothers ARE HM characters. They officially became characters after Me and Mr. J...**

**So, please re-add the story. Re-review. I hope you love it as much as the second time. There's even a new chapter in it for you!**

**-**

_**Freedom's just another word for nothin' left to lose…**_

_-Me and Bobby McGee, Kris Kristofferson/Janis Joplin_

She looked amazing. She was just laying their, encompassed in grass. The sunlight reflected off the purple Ray-ban sunglasses that shielded her eyes from the bright midday sun. Nick Jonas had seen beautiful girls before, I mean, he was once one of those Tiger Beat poster boys, but those days had passed more than a decade ago.

For once, in a long while, he didn't know what to do. He could stand here and stare at her like a crazy person. He could go back into the Rest Area and pretend to be looking at the large map of Montana on the wall, and try to get up the nerve to talk to her. He could get back on his motorcycle, and continue on his journey back to California. Or he could go talk to her.

After a few more minutes, he decided on the latter, and slowly walked toward her. As he got closer, he noticed things he hadn't noticed from his stalker-distance earlier. Like the way her blonde hair splayed out behind her, or the way her fingernails looked short and uneven, unlike the manicured models he had become used to.

Lilly noticed as the shadowy figure appeared above her. She moved the sunglasses onto her head so she could get a look at the stranger. She recognized him, even though the years had fazed him from the boyish image that covered her walls in high school.

"Mr. Jonas, now what would you want with a girl like me?" she asked, as he was at a loss for words. He was caught up in her eyes, which had been hidden by dark glasses until only a moment ago.

"You know who I am?" he asked, finally able to speak.

"Sure, I bought all your CD's until you guys stopped releasing records. Those posters on my wall sort of gave you away."

She smiled and shielded her eyes from the sun, looking up at him.

"Really? That's a huge compliment for me!"

"I don't know why. I mean, you're hearing it from some girl at a rest stop."

"Not just any girl I'm sure," he said as held out his hand she shook it and he lay down next to her in the grass. It was cool, a relief from the heat of the leather seat he had been attached to for the last few hours.

"So, what is Nick Jonas doing in Montana?"

"I don't know. I was bored and I wanted to see Mt. Rushmore. Now I'm on my way back to Los Angeles. What about you?"

"Well, my boyfriend and I were living in Malibu, when I decided we should take a road trip, see the world. Well, to him I guess, that translated into 'I'm gonna get lucky' because he tried something and we got into this big argument, so what does he do? He waits until I have to pee, and drives off without me."

"How long ago was this?"

"That depends, what time is it?"

"Uh, 7:05," he said, looking at his watch. **(Sorry guys, had to do it)**

Lilly started singing the words to a certain song while Nick shook his head. He let out a chuckle, which caught her attention enough to stop her karaoke fest.

"Oh, then about nine hours," she said, managing to smile.

"You've been sitting here for nine hours?"

"Well, yeah. I mean, I went to the bathroom a couple of times. And you know, had lunch at the vending machines."

"Why didn't you call someone to pick you up?"

She shook her head and smiled, "Silly Nick. We're in Mon-tan-a. I live in Cal-i-for-ni-a."

"I see your point. Well, what are you going to do?"

"Hitchhike probably, there's not much else to do is there?"

"Well, you know, I'm going back to California. Some company would be great…"

Nick sat up and leaned on his knees. Lilly didn't answer, not knowing if he was serious or not.

"Are you serious?"

"Sure, why not?"

"Um, because we've known each other for ten minutes and you don't even know my name?"

"What's your name?"

"Lilly"

Nick looked down at his watch, "Well, now I've known you for eleven minutes, and I know your name. Any objections?"

She shook her head as they stood up. The both wiped the back of their thighs before Nick led her over to his ebony black motorcycle. She noticed the light brown leather jacket he was wearing and was suddenly aware of her tank top and jeans. She couldn't complain though, how else was she going to get home.

Nick handed her a helmet, and she looked at his empty hands.

"Nick, where's yours?"

"In your hands," he said as he straddled the bike.

"Come on, you're the one who's helping me. If we crash…"

"Then we better not crash, right? Get on."

She took one last wary look before getting on the bike. Nick turned, and their faces almost touched.

"No pun intented, hold on," he said, a smiled making its way across his face.

"To what?"

"Me," he said, taking her arms and placing them snugly around his waist. She leaned into him.

"Where's the helmet?"

"On the back of the bike. If you trust yourself, I can trust you too"

"If you say so," he said, starting the bike and pulling back out onto the open freeway.

Lilly had ridden a motorcycle before, but never on the freeway. The cars sped past them, her hair flew in the air. She felt wild, free, excited. For once in her life she was being spontaneous. Everything in her life had been planned up until this point, and now it was changing. And it was changing with a Jonas brother. She wasn't complaining.

She held on tighter as Nick pushed the speed. She felt like she was flying. She pressed her face to his back. The deep leather smell of his jacket filled her nostrils. It was like a dream.

Hours, hours they rode like that. Neither spoke, not like it would have been easy to do, with the deafening sound of the wind as they drove.

They pulled off at an exit with a lone motel. They pulled in and got off the pike. Lilly staggered after getting off the bike, and Nick caught her. She looked up at him, their eyes connecting.

"You okay? We're gonna have to work on your road legs if we're going to make it all the way to California."

He half carried her into the office, laughing the whole way at her lack of balance.

"Two rooms please," Nick said once they got to the counter.

The middle aged woman at the counter looked at the computer screen and back up.

"We only have one room available. It's our Honeymoon Suite."

Nick and Lilly looked at each other. They both shrugged.

"We'll take it," Nick said as he got his wallet out. Lilly stopped him as she got hers out.

"Oh no, this one's on me. Derek forgot that I had his credit card," she turned to the lady at the counter. "Can you make sure it says 'Honeymoon Suite' on the statement?"

The lady nodded and handed her the key to the room. For some reason, Nick held onto her waist as she walked toward the door. She heard chuckling from the woman at the desk, and rolled her eyes. They weren't there…yet.

Lilly decided to walk to the room, which was at the other end of the parking lot, while Nick started the bike and slowly drove over. He leaned against the doorway as he waited for her. She finally got to the door and handed him the key.

It wasn't even a card. It was an actual old-fashioned metal key. It should have been a sign, but neither of them caught on.

Nick opened the door and started to laugh. The bedspread on the king size bed had a dark red rose pattern and there were large hearts pasted on the walls. Lilly walked over to the bed, which had a change slot to make it vibrate. She rolled her eyes, planning to save her change to wash her only set of clothes.

The lights started going out. She turned to look at Nick, who was playing with the light switch.

"It's a dimmer!" Lilly rolled her eyes and turned back around.

"I think it's meant to get us in the mood," Nick said as he snuck behind her and tickled her sides. She tried to slap his hands away, but he continued to tickle her.

"Nick stop!" he finally gave up and threw himself onto the bed.

"You're worse than Kevin, even when he does have Starbucks in his system."

"I'll try to take that as a compliment," she said as she went over to the window. They had a lovely view of the freeway, which was still littered with a few semis. She looked to the other side of the parking lot, where there was a small pool. It had a few lights, and a rusted fence surrounding it, but she didn't feel like being locked up in the love nest for the rest of the night.

"You want to go swimming?" she asked, turning to look at Nick, who was staring at the ceiling. He sat up and looked at her.

"I don't have a suit"

"I don't have anything! Just come on!"

He looked at her for a long moment, debating whether or not to surrender, but she gave him the best puppy dog pout he had seen a long time and he gave in. He set his jacket on the bed and nodded. She grabbed him and pulled him out the door. He was barely able to grab the keys of the table before she shut the door.

He was barely able to keep up with her as she ran for the pool. She threw open the gate and he was barely able to stop her before she dove into the water fully dressed.

"You can't go in with jeans on!" he said as he held onto her wrist.

She walked over to one of the lounge chairs and started to take off her tight skinny jeans.

"Whoa! What are you doing?" Nick said as he covered his eyes.

"I can't go in with jeans on!"

"Yeah, well…what do you have on under there?"

"Boy shorts…" she said as she finished taking of her jeans and jumped in. She drifted in the deep end as Nick slowly uncovering his eyes to see her in a long white tank top and not much else.

"Come on Nick! For crying out loud, I saw your butt when I was fifteen!"

His eyes went wide, "What are you talking about?"

"Okay, maybe not your butt, but the lower part of your back. I went to the Burning Up Tour. Shitty seats, but…"

"Wait, you saw us on tour?" Nick said as he finally started to unbutton his faded black skinny jeans.

"Yeah, like six times," she said, right before she dove under the surface to get her hair wet.

Nick started to laugh as he finally revealed a pair of gray boxer-briefs.

"What's so funny Fro Bro?"

"I found a fan girl!"

"Well, I finally answered the immortal question: Nick Jonas, Boxers or Briefs?"

He started to blush, before crawling down the ladder. The chilly water stung his skin and he suddenly turned into a thirteen-year-old girl.

"Ah! It's cold!"

"Oh man, I thought you were from Jersey? Doesn't it snow there?"

"Yeah, but I didn't go outside in a pair of skin tight boxers!"

"Stop whining, come here," Lilly said as she went toward the ladder to pry his fingers off the bar of the ladder.

"What are you going to do?" he said, slowly releasing the bar.

"I'm not going to do anything," she said convincingly as she pulled him to the deep end of the pool.

"Girls always say that before they…" he started before Lilly dunked him under the surface.

He came up sputtering, "What the hell was that for?"

"Is the water still cold?"

"Yes!" he said, water dripping down his face while he wrapped his arms close to his body.

She splashed water at him and he was done taking it. He waded over to the shallow end of the pool, knowing she would follow him. When they were waist deep, she splashed him again. She was having too much fun to notice the devilish smirk cross his face.

She came closer to taunt him, and he put his hands on her waist. She looked at him, confused, as he smiled. Within seconds, she was airborne. He threw her in the deep end, and she came up sputtering.

"Nick, that was mean!"

"So was dunking me!"

She still looked put out so he went over to her. On the way he noticed the way the underwater lights lit up her face. He noticed the way her eyes were the same color as the water that surrounded them. He noticed that she looked more beautiful than she had when he first saw her at the rest area.

He finally realized what was going on. He was falling for her, hard. And now she was taunting him with their lack of clothes.

He realized that he had stopped moving toward her. She noticed that something was wrong and came toward him. He had sort of gone into shock at her closeness.

She didn't help him as she stroked his face and neck, trying to bring him back to reality, which made it harder for him to breathe. He finally lost it as he brought her face to his and kissed her.

He was afraid that it was unwanted, but she started to kiss him back. His calloused hands ran along the soft skin on her stomach, under the wet tank top. He pressed her against the tiled edge of the pool as they started to kiss deeper, more passionately.

They were interrupted by a deep cough. Lilly looked up and blushed as Nick tried to turn. They were still WAY in each other's "hula hoop", but they were in a less prone position than they had just been in. There was a man standing at the gate, holding a ring of keys.

"I'm sorry folks, but I have to lock up the pool, it's after midnight"

"Oh sure, I'm sorry…" Lilly fumbled as she crawled out, trying to cover up as much as she could.

Nick followed, doing the same, but he was almost too ashamed to speak. He had just lost control. It had never happened before.

Lilly ran back to the room with her jeans in hand, but Nick held back, taking his time to cross the dark asphalt.

He stared at the silver band on his left hand and tried to think of a time when he had almost gone back on everything he believed in. The only incident was the one that took place almost a few moments ago.

He ran his hand threw his damp curls as he knocked on the door of the suite. She opened it, by now she had a white towel with the word 'hers' embroidered on in black thread.

She started to laugh. He just noticed how beautiful the sound was.

"What?" he asked as he slid through the small space between her body and the doorway.

"You look like a soggy poodle," she answered as she dead bolted the door behind him.

"I have been told that too often," he said, purposefully shaking his head in her direction. She shook her head before handing him the towel with 'his' embroidered on it.

He smiled before taking it and drying himself. She smiled as drops of water glistened on his brow, almost as bright as his chocolate brown eyes when they had looked at her in the pool. She had always had a weakness for chocolate.

She looked over at the large mirror on the far wall, trying to distract herself, but she caught Nick looking at her in the reflection. She looked down, trying to avoid his dark, wanting glance as she played with a loose string on the hem of her tank top.

"Catch," she heard from behind her, and she looked just in time to see a black shirt fall into her hands. It had a faded picture of Johnny Cash on the front. She looked up at Nick to see him going through a leather duffel bag.

"What's this?"

"One of my shirts, hang yours over the shower curtain to dry," he answered without looking up. She took this as a sign to leave the room, to leave Nick with his thoughts, so she went into the bathroom to change.

Nick couldn't stop thinking about how her touch drove him wild. He used this time alone to change into a pair of plaid boxers and a gray wifebeater.

She still hadn't come out, so he turned the TV onto Conan O'Brien and tried to avoid dirty thoughts.

He was the last of his brothers to get married, excluding Frankie of course, who was still in high school, well, home school, but he wasn't even eighteen yet, barely older than Nick had been when he had achieved stardom.

Joe had finally met Emma Watson during one of their headlining tours in Europe, and they now lived between London and L.A. with their son Robert.

Kevin had married a girl he met thanks to a magazine contest. They had twin girls, Dani and Demi. They lived in New York.

As for Nick, he still lived less than a block from his parents and Frankie, who was in a small, MySpace-y, indie band. He had a small, barely furnished apartment, of which the most prominent feature was a wall of gold and platinum records. He worked on and off, mostly songwriting, and lived mainly off royalties.

He was tired of being the bachelor brother. He wanted to be settled. He wanted to have more to go home to than a ferret. Was Lilly his chance?

He had always meant to fall in love, but he had expected it to happen slowly. He had always said that love at first sight existed, but now he was second guessing himself. Was he just being hormonal?

He heard the blower turn off in the bathroom and the knob turn. He watched as she came out, in his shirt, with her long strands of blonde hair lying limply on her shoulders. She looked up at him and bit her lip, trying to pull the shirt down farther. He had never seen anything sexier in his life.

He got up off the bed and walked over to her. He reached up to her face and ran his thumb along her jaw line. He softly put his lips against her, pulling away slowly, before walking into the bathroom.

Lilly slowly brought her fingertips to her lips. Was that real?

The kiss in the pool had been great, but it had been so…strong. She hadn't thought about it. Only Nick Jonas could make her have to THINK about a kiss.

Because the one he had just given her the best one of her entire life.

* * *

**Well guys, this was a little idea I had will I was in Wisconsin and my entire family had to use certain 'facilities'. Yeah, I know, but I really liked the idea. Oh, and I was in a Jonas mood anyway, because I went to the 7.05 concert (yeah, I know!) and they were awesome. And I was on the Kevin side! Ahh…**

**So, here's the question, should this be a oneshot. It feels more like a story to me, and I have some ideas, but please review if I should leave it as is.**


	2. Idaho

**Well guys, here's your answer. This will be a story, but it won't be very long. I hope you like this chapter. I don't think it deals with their feelings too much, but I like the ending, and trust me, I haven't said that in a long time. So please review, they make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the Johnny Cash shirt, and mine doesn't smell like Nick Jonas. Atleast, I don't think it does...**

* * *

Lilly awoke to the morning light streaming through the translucent curtains. She refused to open her eyes. As soon as she woke up, the brute force of what had happened last night had hit her.

She and Nick had slept in the same bed, making sure they were as far apart as physically possible, but Lilly distinctly remembered waking up with his arms around her.

Lilly finally opened her eyes, expecting to see him next to her, but he was gone. She looked around worriedly for a moment before hearing the shower running.

She calmed down, settling her gaze on the ceiling. There were light brown stains in the cracked plaster, and she spent a while studying them, finding recognizable shapes. She even found one shaped exactly like the poodle on her…

The door to the bathroom opened and steam poured out. Nick came out, shirtless. He finished buckling his belt before looking up.

"Oh, you're up. There's a Denny's across the street. I'm gonna head over there. Come join me when you're dressed, 'kay?"

All she could do was nod as he grabbed a dark green shirt out of the duffel and put it over his head. He waved as he left the room.

Lilly laid there for a few moments, smelling his cologne on the shirt she was wearing. It made her dizzy, dizzy to the point when she had to stop.

She unwillingly got out of bed and went to the bathroom. On the way she grabbed the dark wash skinny jeans off the sink.

Meanwhile, Nick was just being shown to his table. He looked at the menu, reading every entry to keep his mind off the obvious dilemma at hand.

He hadn't done anything like this before. Any time he tried to think about what he was doing, he shocked himself. He was supposed to be the grounded brother, always in charge. It had always been his place and he had never fought it.

But now he was totally losing it, all over a girl that he had met less than a day ago. He was really starting to think about the love at first sight defense, because otherwise he was going insane.

A slim brunette waitress about his age came to the table to take his order. She smiled in his direction. He caught the flirting, but decided to ignore it. He may not have been a celebrity anymore, but he wasn't bad looking for the average ex-celebrity. He ordered coffee and pancakes before the girl left the table, obviously put out by his lack of attention.

She brought the coffee within a few seconds, once again trying to get his attention, failing once more.

Nick picked up the chipped white mug and brought it to his lips. He had always liked the bitterness of black coffee. It stung his throat as it went down. It had always given him a clear mind, but today, even the coffee couldn't do that.

His mind had been foggy since he woke up with her in his arms that morning, enjoying it for only a few moments before rolling over and getting out of bed.

The shower had awakened his senses, especially the ones that thought about her. The ghost sensations started to appear, along his lips mostly. Suddenly the hotel room seemed to be closing in on him and he had to get up.

He had sort of hoped that she would be asleep when he tried to leave, that he would able to leave a note, but he didn't have that kind of luck. He knew those aquatic green eyes were following him around the room and he couldn't leave fast enough.

It was summer, but in the early morning, there was still a biting chill in the air. He wished he would have thought to bring his leather jacket with him, but it was lying on a desk chair back in the hotel room, and he wasn't going back in there for anything.

And now he was staring into the dark abyss of his coffee cup. Anyone who saw him right now would think he was hungover, and he was, sort of. He had achieved his own buzz last night, and now it was coming back to bite him in the ass.

As he was thinking over this, she finally came in, setting her black tote on the table and slid into the booth. Some people wouldn't even call it sliding though. Sliding is a graceful motion, and the way she got into the booth could have been done more quietly by a herd of moose.

The waitress came back and Lilly ordered a glass of Orange Juice. Nick always wished he could wake up with that kind of spirit, able to drink something so tangy and sweet, but his pessimistic attitude always made itself known in the morning. He still hadn't looked up from his coffee, but she didn't seem to notice.

The waitress brought the glass of bright yellow sunshine and told him his pancakes would be done within a few minutes, while Lilly ordered a Grand Slam.

When the waitress left, Nick finally found the courage, mostly to question her appetite. Her hair was still wet and hung limply on her shoulders. He had always liked girls who did that. They didn't care if the world knew that they had slept in and had just gotten out of the shower. It showed some natural essence of not caring what other people think that he had always wished he had.

He remembered the reason he had looked up, and used it to start a conversation.

"Are you really going to eat all of that?"

"Sure. I'm famished. The last thing I ate was a bag of Skittles at the rest area"

Even after saying that, she still seemed perky. For someone who took so long to wake up, she was such a morning person.

She picked up a spoon and a butter knife and started drumming on the table in a syncopated rhythm. Nick had been around enough musicians to know that she wasn't an amateur.

"You play drums?" he asked.

She was caught up in her rhythm and didn't notice he had spoken until he stopped the beating and repeated himself. She nodded.

"Yeah, drums, guitar, and some bass," she said, throwing the butter knife in the air. It spun a few times before coming to rest in her hand.

People started to stare and she set the utensils back on the tabletop. Nick couldn't help but smile.

"Were you ever any good?"

"Yeah, well, some people thought so, but my best friend was a successful pop star and she said I wasn't good enough. I always kind of hoped it was the whole Mitchie/Tess concept, but nothing really panned out."

"Would I know her?"

"Oh yes. She was, um, Hannah Montana. Actually, she and I pranked you and your brothers once."

"What are you talking about?"

Lilly stood up and tried to make an angry face, flexing her muscles, "Grr, MONSTER TRUCKS!" she said.

Every eye in the restaurant turned to her, and she slowly sat back down.

"Ah yes, I remember now. You were the one with the leg pop."

"Oh, that…how did you know about that?" Lilly said with a blush.

"Joe was watching you, and Maya made us watch Princess Diaries so many times that I knew what it was. It really creeped me out at the time. Now, not so much," he said, smiling to make it known that he was kidding.

"For the record, I'm sure you're better than Hannah. You don't seem like a cookie cutter pop star."

"No way, I could never cut it in that world. I always saw myself as more of a Janis Joplin type, but those are just dreams, they rarely come true."

"Says who?"

"Says life. Nick, I'm 26 years old. By now I thought I'd have a family, a successful career, I thought I'd be set. I didn't think I'd be hitchhiking back home after my deadbeat boyfriend left me in Montana, not that this isn't fun," she made sure to add.

"So did I, but you can't say that dreams can't come true. I was on Broadway, had hit records, toured huge arenas, had a TV movie, and a TV show all before I was able to vote. Hell, I was on Oprah!"

"Wow, I really lack achievement," she said, joking, as the waitress came back with their orders. Lilly ate ravenously, and was done within ten minutes. Nick took his time and finished his, finishing with a last sip of cold coffee, though the bitterness wasn't as noticeable now.

"Are you ready to set off again? Today we conquer Idaho!" Nick said as he signaled for the bill.

"Didn't the potatoes conquer Idaho a while ago?" Lilly asked, handing Nick the credit card she had used last night.

He tried to refuse but she answered, "He's not a COMPLETE idiot. I want to spend as much as I can before he cancels it."

He smirked as he put the card in the leather folder. The waitress came back and took it. They took this time to look at each other for some unnecessary reason.

"You're wearing my shirt," Nick said, pointing to the wrinkled Johnny Cash shirt he had given her to wear to bed.

"Yeah, why not? Everybody loves the man in black," she said, stretching the picture on the shirt to see the picture a little better.

"It looks better on you than it does on me," he said, leaning a little farther back in the booth and staring her down.

Lilly was happy when the waitress came back, breaking the tension between them, if for only a moment. She took the card and threw it back in her purse as they both stood up.

It was slightly warmer as they made their way across the street, back to the motel. It looked even worse in the light of day, and the pool wasn't as romantic in the daylight either. Lilly went to gather the last remainders of their existence out of the honeymoon suite, while Nick took the key and checked out.

Lilly entered the room, only needed to grab the duffel bag and Nick's leather jacket. It was the first time she realized that it must have been his Burnin' Up jacket. He had worn it in the video; the first time she started thinking that Nick was the hot one. Before then, she had always been the one who said they didn't have a favorite. Now she had a definite favorite of course, but she never thought she would meet them again after the incident in the record studio.

She picked it up and smelled the collar. It smelled like him. She realized that if anyone walked in on her right now, she would look completely insane, sniffing a worn leather jacket.

She didn't have an extra arm to carry it, so she wore it out; planning to take it off once she stored the bags. She closed the door behind her and walked to the nearest parking spot, where Nick was waiting for her. He looked her up and down, obviously studying the way his jacket looked on her. She went to take it off after storing the bags, but he stopped her.

"Why don't you wear it?"

"It's your jacket Nick, why would I…?"

"Because I told you to, that's why. You look better in it anyway," he said, smiling and raising his eyebrows.

"I guess we'll have to just agree to disagree on that one," she said, wrapping her arms around herself, pulling the soft leather closer to her body.

Nick smirked as he mounted the bike, waiting for her to get on. She failed to move.

"Are you going to get on?" he said impatiently.

"I…I…I…" she seemed at a loss of words.

"Lilly, we drove like this for hours yesterday. What's different now?"

She looked at him matter-of-factly, "Well, yeah, that, but there's no other way to do it. Unless you want me to leave you here that is."

She thought for a second before rolling her eyes and mounting the bike.

"That's what I thought," Nick said, emanating cocky satisfaction. Lilly ignored him as she clung around his waist again, laying her cheek against his shoulder blade.

The green shirt he had chosen this morning was soft, and she was almost lulled to sleep by the pulsating of the motor. The only thing keeping her awake was the sheer power of the wind as they broke through it.

Nick on the other hand was wide awake, focusing on the road and the fact that he should wear cheaper aviator sunglasses on the freeway, because these were being splattered by little bug corpses.

They drove like this for a while. Time passed slowly with the lack of landscape, which consisted of farms. Nick finally glanced over at a large sign that welcomed them to Idaho, which he pointed out to Lilly, who was almost asleep on his back. After a few more hours, they stopped for lunch at a truck stop.

While they consumed greasy hamburgers, Lilly found a travel book left on one of the tables and started to browse for lodging. Nick bought a map and started to list cities on their route. They finally matched one and began to look at their options. There were many that looked like the hotel they had stayed at the night before, with less amenities, which were then crossed off their list.

"What about this one?" Lilly said, pointing at the small, almost invisible advertisement for a bed and breakfast. Nick double checked their route and nodded. Lilly called the number listed and was greeted by an elderly voice.

Lilly relayed information to Nick as the woman informed her that they were booked, but she brightened up as she informed him that they had just had one cancellation. She booked it and hung up.

"Whoa, that was weird"

"What?"

"I made a reservation. I never make reservations. I usually miss them and stuff."

Nick laughed before paying the bill. They went out on the freeway again and drove for a few more hours before pulling off on the exit for the B & B. They were thankful they had chosen not to stay on one of the dumpy hotels directly off the freeway.

The town had definitely seen its good days years ago. Everything looked unkept, like people had just given up on it. It was sort of sad. They finally got to the place and were glad to see that not everyone had given up on the beauty of the town.

The bed and breakfast was an old Victorian house. Its wood siding was whitewashed and there were roses in the garden. It was almost as if they had been transported back to a different era, a simpler one.

As they climbed the steps up to the front porch, a black and white cat curled its tail around Lilly's legs. She reached down to pet it behind the ears as Nick rang the doorbell.

A woman came to the door. She had an apron on over a housedress, her white hair pulled up in a bun. The cat ran between her legs into the house.

"Is this the Bed and Breakfast?" Lilly asked as she stood up.

"Ah, yes. I recognize your voice. You must be the Jonas's. Pete!"

Before either of them could correct the woman, she hurried them inside. A man that must have been her husband came shuffling down a long hallway. He took the duffel bag out of Nick's hands, even when Nick said it was no problem, and led them up the stairs. Opening a door to his left, he let them in.

"Dinner's in an hour. Make yourselves comfortable."

Pete went back downstairs. Nick smiled. The man hadn't meant to be rude; he was just a man of few words. He had always admired people like that.

Nick walked into the room, which Lilly was already admiring. The wallpaper was white, with small blue flowers sprinkled on it. The bedspread was also light blue. There was no TV, but a small white desk in one corner. There was an intricate mirror on one wall and a painting of the ocean on another. A vase of bluebells sat on a small table next to the bed.

After a few minutes, Lilly went to the bathroom down the hall to freshen herself up. Nick took a seat on the bed, smaller than the one they had slept on the night before. He started to debate whether the soft carpet would be any easier to sleep on.

He was still debating this as they went downstairs. At the long table were two other couples, along with the couple who owned the house.

The younger of the two couples introduced themselves as Harry and Ella Peterson, newlyweds from nearby, who were spending their honeymoon here while their house was being built.

The older were a couple from Oregon, Dennis and Janine Austin, who were on their second honeymoon. They showed Nick and Lilly pictures of their 11-year-old son Tyler and 8-year-old daughter Katy.

Pete sat at the end of the table. His wife was noticeably absent, until she carried in a pot roast and sat down. They said grace before eating. This was the first home cooked meal Lilly or Nick had had in a while, and they enjoyed every morsel.

When dinner was done, the other couple excused themselves to go to bed early, though they weren't kidding anyone. The woman, who had finally introduced her self as Rose, excused herself to the kitchen to wash dishes. Lilly decided to help her.

Nick needed air. All this romance in the air was started to suffocate him. He was trying to think clearly and this whole…thing, was not helping at all.

He went out on the front porch and leaned against one of the pillars. He was startled by a cough behind him. In the shadows, he saw Pete in a wicker rocker. He was just staring out at the park across the street.

Nick sat down in the chair next to him. They sat their quietly, just thinking for a while. Nick interrupted the silence with a question that had been bugging him.

"Pete, do you believe in love at first sight?"

Nick heard a chuckle and turned.

"Oh so that's it. I knew you weren't married, but I was trying to figure out why you were clinging to her so much."

"You, wait…"

"Rose and I have been married more than fifty years. If anyone knows how much she likes to hear herself talk, it's yours truly."

"Well, yeah…" Nick said as he told the older man about everything that had happened in the last twenty-four hours. The man nodded.

"Well young man, I think it's my turn to tell you a story. Have you ever seen the show MASH?"

Nick nodded.

"Well I was in Korea when I was twenty-five, about your age. While there, I received a Dear John letter from my fiancé. I was heartbroken. When I finally got back to the states, after seeing the things I had seen, I just wanted to get wasted. I was on my way to the first bar I saw. It was dark and the New York street was all dark and dingy, like how it is in the movies right before somebody gets killed. Well I was thinking about how horrible my life was when I passed this girl. She was dressed to the nines and I could tell she was in the wrong neighborhood."

"Anyway, I was still in my dress blues, so I had to do what I could. I caught her by the arm and spun her around. She looked at me with these brown eyes and I…I lost it. She explained to me that her boyfriend was supposed to be taking her to a frat party and had other plans, so she got out of the car, not realizing what neighborhood they were in. I asked her name, she told me and instead of going into the bar, I called a cab. We drove to her parents' house where I asked for her hand in marriage."

"Did they give it to you?"

"No, they said I had to wait two years, so I did."

"You mean…"

He nodded, smiling.

"Yes Nick, I believe in love at first sight."


	3. Nevada

**Any fans of the Bonus Jonas? Well, he's going to be joining us in a few chapters. As of now though, we're still in that little Idaho B & B, so lets get back there shall we?**

**Disclaimer: I don't know why I bother. Seriously, if I owned a Jonas Brother, would I really be typing fanfiction after rocking out at a Weird Al concert? The correct and depressing answer is no.**

It was so hard for her to just lay here. Lilly's entire life had been about moving. She wasn't a settler, she never had been. She was always looking for that greener patch of grass, even if it did turn out to be astro-turf.

And that's the reason she wanted to get out of bed. He was the reason why she had stayed.

The first lights of dawn had alerted her to the furrow in his brow. He had seemed restless, and that was what had woken her up. Something was troubling him, and she had a feeling she knew what it was.

Lilly had always been trouble. No-one had told her outright how much of a burden she was, but she knew she was. That's why she had moved out when she was nineteen, moving from place to place for a while.

But now she had no choice but to stay with her mom. She couldn't burden Nick any more than was necessary.

He groaned in his sleep, and her attention was drawn back to him. Was he having a nightmare?

The furrow grew deeper and he looked anguished. She pressed her fingertips against his hairline and skimmed them along the skin there.

The furrow all but disappeared and a smile had appeared on his face. Oh, so it had turned into one of THOSE dreams.

She shook him and he awoke with a start. She rolled her eyes and got out of bed, pulling the shirt she had worn last night as low on her thigh as it would go.

Rose had done her the favor of washing her clothes: the ones Nick had picked her up in as well as the shirt that Nick had let her borrow which she had adopted as her own. Right now she was in the soft hunter green one Nick had been wearing. It smelled like Nick, sweat and all, but she had gotten used to it. It was almost comforting.

Her clean laundry was outside the door as she had hoped. She looked up and down the hall to make sure she was the only one up and taking one more look into the room behind her to make sure Nick was up. He was standing up and staring out the window, probably deep thinking again.

She double-checked again to make sure there was no-one in the hall before running to the bathroom. Once in it, she did her business, hoping that no-one woke up to the sound of the shower. Most of the other inhabitants had probably stayed up later than she and Nick had.

This place was affecting Nick, she could tell. Last night he had gone out on the porch until late, and when he came back, something had changed. Something was on his mind and it was unnerving for her. The supposed nightmares he had had last night weren't helping either.

She was about to get dressed when she noticed a navy blue dress tucked between her clothes. There was a note pinned to it.

_Lilly, this used to be my daughter's. No-one else around here can wear it. I want you to have it. Love, Rose_

Lilly held the dress up to her body. It was sleeveless and went down to just below her knees. It wasn't fancy, just a sundress, but it was beautiful. She pulled it on over her head and admired herself in the mirror. Lilly never wore dresses, but this one was different. It was her.

She gathered the rest of her clothes and walked back down the hallway to their room. For some reason, she had to gather herself before entering. As she reached for the knob, it turned, revealing Nick in his boxers. He had clothes in hand and was obviously on the way to wait for the bathroom.

Lilly paused in the doorway. Nick was looking her over from top to bottom. She knew he wasn't criticizing her, but she still felt awkward under his gaze. Nick realized what he was doing and became flushed.

He went to move towards the bathroom, but she was in his way. Lilly flattened herself against the doorway to let him through and he had to do the same to get past her. They were caught entangled in the doorway, Lilly staring up at his chin as Nick tried to look anywhere but down. Finally he pushed past her and went down the hall.

Lilly was still staring at the hinges in the door as she heard the bathroom door close. She closed her eyes and groaned. Another awkward moment in a series of many.

She went back into the room and put her clothes in the large black tote, deciding against waiting for Nick. She went downstairs, planning to wait in the parlor for someone else.

She went into the parlor, right off of the staircase, and heard someone moving in the kitchen. She went towards the sound and found Rose bustling around.

Lilly knocked on the plaster and Rose spun at the other woman's presence.

"Oh, Lilly! You scared me dear, I didn't realize anyone else was up," the older woman paused and looked her up and down, "I knew it would look beautiful on you."

Lilly blushed and set her tote on the breakfast table, which was smaller and more simple than the dining room table they had eaten at the night before.

"Thank you Rose. I'm glad you gave it to me," she said, sitting in one of the metal chairs surrounding the small table.

"Did you sleep well last night?" the older woman asked as she continued to busy herself with things in the kitchen.

"I did, but Nick didn't. He was tossing and turning all night. He's been off since he came inside last night."

Lilly didn't realize that she was staring off into space until there was a hand in front of her face. She turned to see Rose in the chair next to her.

"I'm sorry, I was just thinking," Lilly said, meddling with her hands in her lap.

"You really are worried about him aren't you?"

Lilly nodded as she continued to play with her hands. A wrinkled hand covered hers and she looked up into the woman's green eyes, surrounded by wrinkles, but still as bright as they must have been when she was Lilly's age.

"Can I braid your hair?" the older woman asked. Lilly nodded, even though she knew she was asking "Can I tell you one of life's secrets?"

She turned and settled her eyes on the brass kettle sitting on the stove.

"Lilly, there is something you need to know about men. No matter what they say, they don't believe in love at first sight. They can't form their minds around the concept of destiny. Women, we're raised on fairy tales. We can always go back to those stories and really believe that two people can truly be in love no matter how long they've known each other."

"I think that Nicholas is having trouble defining his feelings for you. I don't think he believes that he can fall in love with someone as fast as he fell for you. He seems like the kind of man who's always done the right thing, and he doesn't want to have an error in judgment this big. Just give him time to accept it."

Rose finished with the single plait down her back and patted her back. Lilly turned in her chair to face the old woman.

"So I just need to give him time?"

"Sure. That's all men ever need. Just time to think, they don't practice it enough so it just takes longer."

Lilly tried to smile, but it came out in a grimace, "I wish I could give him more time, but he's supposed to be dropping me off tomorrow night."

"That could pose a problem. Let's just hope he can resolve his thinking before then. Let's start breakfast while we wait for the men folk."

Lilly nodded and wiped the single tear she had let fall off her cheek. She stood up and followed Rose into the kitchen.

"Can you make coffee?"

Lilly nodded and took the can of Folger's from Rose, busying herself making the coffee. Suddenly, she felt two strong arms wrap around her.

Nick pressed a kiss on her cheek and whispered in her ear, "Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah, you?" she said turning around quite abruptly.

Nick avoided her gaze and nodded. He was hiding something, she knew it.

"Nicholas, why don't you go help Pete out back?"

Nick gave the older woman silent thanks before all but running outside.

Lilly felt a hand on her shoulder as she began to cry, "He's hiding something from me."

"Maybe it's just something he doesn't want you to worry about. I'm sure it's nothing terribly important."

"I hope not," Lilly whispered before turning back to the ancient coffee pot.

Nick, on the other hand, was walking out into the crisp morning air. The sun had just broken over the horizon, and the world was still eerily quiet. It was almost peaceful.

At first glance, he didn't see the old man anywhere, but there were a few scattered outbuildings that had various things he probably needed to attend to. His suspicions were confirmed when he saw the man busying himself in the doorway of what could only be a stable.

As he went toward the building he could smell the sweet scent of dry hay. It brought him back to his time in Texas when they would take weekend trips to various ranches that fed on the tourist flow from Dallas.

When he finally got inside the dark barn, he found Pete in one of the stalls. He had a pitchfork in hand and was turning the hay on the floor. There seemed to be so much trust between the man and the animal, which could have crushed him in an instant. How was it even possible?

Nick stood near the horse, warily petting it on the nose. The animal seemed calm, staring at him with dark eyes.

Pete came around the horse and stood there, waiting for Nick to say something. Nick noticed and refused to look up.

"I blame you," Nick said, still staring intently into the horses eyes.

"For what?" the old man asked, moving toward the next stall.

"I was in Korea last night," Nick said looking up, trying to weigh the other man's reaction. He just looked up for a better explanation.

"That story you told me last night, I dreamt it last night. I was in Korea, and then I was on that street in New York. And, I was looking down the street and there she was, but it was Lilly and…God! I'm so confused about everything."

"You artists are supposed to be open about everything," the man said, almost angrily. "Why can't you just believe that you're falling in love?"

"Yeah, and open my heart just to get it broken again. No thanks."

"Sometimes taking chances gives you a greater reward than you can even imagine," Pete said, taking one last good at him.

"Boys, breakfast is ready!" they heard Rose call from the kitchen door.

Nick took one last look at the horse's dark eyes before shaking his head and heading toward the kitchen. He was met by the smell of frying bacon.

He entered the kitchen to see the homeowners standing near the stove, whispering to each other. Lilly was setting the small breakfast table. Nick was caught awkwardly in between two situations he didn't want to get into.

He chose what he felt was the right one, taking the silverware out of Lilly's full hands and started setting them on the tabletop. They took to this task wordlessly, only looking up at each other every once in a while out of curiosity.

Lilly took the time to notice the low neck heather gray shirt Nick was wearing, along with a pair of almost white jeans that had seen better days. The shirt had a logo that was faded beyond recognition.

Nick took another look at the low cut on the navy dress Lilly was wearing, and the way the navy contrasted with her blond hair. He noticed the way she tucked a stray hair behind her ear and nervously bit her lip.

The awkward tension was interrupted when Rose came between them, balancing plates of bacon, hash browns, and scrambled eggs in her arms. Pete was behind her, carrying a pitcher of orange juice.

Nick pulled out chairs for both of the women, causing Rose to get flustered, and Lilly smiled, for the first time all morning. The men sat down, both eyeing the food hungrily before Rose led them in grace and let them eat.

They ate relatively quietly. Nick and Lilly continued to steal glances of each other while Pete and Rose continued to communicate without speech. They tried not to laugh at the younger couple's behavior. They could only humor the awkwardness for so long.

"So, where are you guys planning to get to today?" Rose asked, trying to break the tension.

"I'm hoping Las Vegas. I have a friend there that'll put us up," Nick said, shoving a few more forkfuls of egg into his mouth.

"Well that's good. You'll probably get there before dinner and you can spend some time on the town. It would be a change of pace from having to stay here with a couple of old fuddy duddys like us."

"I actually liked it," Lilly put in. "It was kind of nice to get away from it all for even a little while."

Everyone else nodded as they finished eating. Lilly helped gather the plates and offered to help wash them but Rose refused.

"You two need to get on the road. I'll wait until everyone else has eaten before I wash those silly things."

Lilly thanked her and picked her purse up off the counter. Nick was in the parlor having a quiet word with Pete. She and Rose went out to the room, and the men immediately stopped talking. Pete rolled his eyes and walked over to his wife, holding her protectively around the waist.

It was a simple gesture, he probably hadn't even realized he was doing it, but it made Lilly uncomfortable. She and Nick would never have that. They'd be awkward and secretive until he dropped her off on her mother's front porch, and there was nothing she could do about it. It just wasn't meant to be.

They said their last goodbyes to the older couple before quietly leaving, knowing that the peaceful experience they had just had was about to be demolished.

-FREEDOM-

After hours of driving, Lilly saw the familiar sign that welcomed them to Las Vegas. It didn't have as much effect because it was still light out, but it was definitely a change in scenery from the B&B.

They drove for almost a mile before Nick pulled into one of the less flashy hotels. It was big, but the fact it wasn't owned by Donald Trump meant that it was dwarfed by the buildings surrounding it. The name on the front said 'The Wyckoff', which was ironic, because wasn't Nick from...

Before she could think any deeper into it, he had parked and was waiting for her.

Nick led her into the lobby. He was confident as he strode through the lobby. He'd been here many times before; she could tell by the way he acted. He was strutting around like he owned the place. She looked at him and suddenly realized.

He did.

Just looking around at the style of the place, let alone the name, she could tell that this was Nick's hotel. Why that little…

Instead of going to the front desk, Nick led her to the elevator. He took it to the top floor, the eighth, and got off. This floor only had a short hallway, with three doors, spaced farther apart that usual. One door was labeled 'Penthouse', and the other two were labeled 'Private'.

Nick pulled a previously unnoticed key out of his pocket, and opened the farther of the doors labeled 'Private'.

Oh man, Lilly thought as she entered the suite. If there was any reason to buy a hotel, this was it.

One entire wall was a giant window that looked out onto the strip. There were long white curtains for privacy, but they were pulled back to let in light. The room they were in was styled much like Nick himself. There were hardwood floors, the walls were dark gray, and there were comfortable looking leather sofas and chairs in an area covered with a scarlet rug. There was a barely noticeable kitchenette in the corner with a table that could only sit a few people at a time. On one side of the room, there was a simple door, probably to the bathroom, and on the other, a set of dramatic French doors.

She looked to Nick, asking permission, before opening the doors into the bedroom. It was almost the same as the other room, but also so different. The other room had been such an attempt to be all dark and suspicious, so masculine; but this room was the opposite.

There was a door wall on one side that opened up to a balcony, pointed in the same direction as the windows in the other room. In the center of the room was a queen-size bed. The covers were simple white linens. The walls were a shade of gray-blue, and they were covered with black and white photographs. There were some of different members of his family, others of his musical inspirations, Elvis Costello and Johnny Cash among others. In one corner, there was a black acoustic guitar.

His decorating was so classic, so honest; it was such a reflection on the man himself.

Lilly walked over to the corner and ran her fingers along the guitar strings, feeling them buzz under her touch.

"I have another in the other room, electric, in case I get inspired while I'm here."

Nick was standing in the doorway smiling at her. She went out onto the balcony, and he followed her. She leaned against the railing, sticking her face out into the breeze.

"Do you like it?" Nick asked quietly.

"It's so beautiful. How long have you had it?"

"When I was twenty-four, one of my friends who's a businessman came to me with this hotel. At the time, it was old and decrepit, but he and I saw character and went in on it together. I come out here when I need to get away. And it was definitely a good investment. People who want to avoid the casinos and hype come here. It's like an oasis."

"Yeah. It's nice," Lilly said, turning to face him. He noticed the way her face glowed in the setting sun.

"Do you want to go somewhere with me?" He said, leaning against the sliding glass door.

"That depends on what you're planning," she answered. She smiled playfully, knowing full well that she'd jump off the balcony right now if he told her to.

"I know a place. Do you like jazz?" he led her through the apartment again, grabbing his jacket off the sofa where he'd left it.

By now it was dark, but the lights of the strip lit up the street. It was loud and blaring, but somehow peaceful. It was a peaceful chaos.

Nick took Lilly's hand, a gesture she didn't question. If he was leading her to the end of the world, she would let him.

After a little while, Nick led her off the beaten path, into a dark alley. It was almost scary to her, but Nick seemed to know where he was going.

After a while, they came to a hidden doorway. It was just a black door, nothing special, but Nick knew he had found it.

"Lilly, welcome to The Clandestine Lounge," he said, opening the door to reveal a hazy room, filled with the sound of jazz and the smell of cigar smoke.

There was a man near the door, probably this place's excuse for a bouncer, but it seemed that anyone this far out of the way was destined to be here anyway.

He led her off to a small table, near the stage. A waitress came over, probably wanting to be closer to the haunting sounds than the customers, but she took their orders anyway.

Nick leaned toward Lilly, whispering into her ear, "They say this was a speakeasy during prohibition. I'd like to think it hasn't changed much."

And with that, he leaned back in his seat to enjoy the music. The waitress came back to the table carrying two glasses with amber liquid in them.

Lilly couldn't remember what she'd ordered, and waited for Nick to take a long swig before taking a sip. It bit her throat, but at the same time, it was almost comforting compared to the sad music playing.

She fazed out, thinking only of the music until Nick grabbed her hand.

"Do you want to dance?"

She looked to the small section of wooden floor and back at her empty glass. She stood up and let him take her hand.

He pulled her close, not thinking of the consequences. He whispered in her ear, "I couldn't help it. I've never been able to pass up Sinatra."

Lilly knew what he meant. She recognized the song too.

_Its quarter to three,  
There's no one in the place 'cept you and me  
So set 'em up Joe  
I got a little story I think you oughtta know're drinking my friend  
To the end of a brief episode  
So make it one for my baby  
And one more for the road_

_We're drinking my friend  
To the end of a brief episode  
So make it one for my baby  
And one more for the road_

"Billie Holiday," she whispered back against his chest.

"Hmm," was his incomprehensible answer. He had a hard time concentrating when he drank, and right now he was too caught up in the music to realize anything else going on.

"Billie Holiday," she repeated. "Billie Holiday sang this song."

He smiled into her hair, drowning in the senses of the moment. The haziness was almost comforting.

The song ended too soon, waking them up from the comforting haze and back to the real world. Lilly moved to go back to the table, but stumbled. The drink was finally starting to set in, and the room was starting to spin.

Nick noticed sharply within a few seconds what was happening and pulled her out of the haze and back into the cold night air. She had trouble holding her own weight, and Nick held her tight around her waist.

"I'm sorry Lilly, we should have stayed in," Nick said worriedly at her condition.

Lilly couldn't help but smile, almost laughing and causing her step to falter.

"Don't say that, it was amazing. I just wish I had asked what that waitress gave me."

"Still, I feel bad. I'm so used to being there. I forgot what it was like that first time. You just get so caught up…"

"…in the music. Yeah, I know, so was I," Lilly said, the night air starting to clear her head.

Nick smiled, realizing that the night hadn't been a complete failure. Maybe he hadn't lost his touch in all those years without a relationship.

Not like this was a relationship, just more of one than he had had a while.

He looked over at her face in the glow of the streetlight. Even tipsy, he had to admit how gorgeous she was. And it was like she didn't even know. It was so natural.

They finally got back to the hotel, using the service entrance to get to the elevator. Ah, the perks of owning a hotel. He threw his jacket on the back of the couch without removing his arm from Lilly's petite waist.

He could see that she was barely awake, blinking hard every few seconds to try to stay up. He led her to the bedroom and pulled back the covers, helping her into the bed. Within seconds, he could hear her breathing become more relaxed and knew she was asleep.

Suddenly, he too felt tired, though he hadn't noticed before. Without undressing, he climbed on top of the bed next to her. Lying next to her sleeping figure made him feel safer, though it should have been the other way around.

Because for the first time in a long time, Nick Jonas was afraid of being alone.

* * *

**Sorry for the late update guys. This chapter was almost finished last week, but then I had to do homework (AP Lit better be worth summer homework) and then I had band camp. I'm goin out of town again tomorrow, but I may have the next chapter, an intentionally short one, up tonight. I hope you guys are still reading this. ****Plz Review, and listen to ALBL!!**


	4. California

**Warning: Intentionally short chapter. Review anyway. P.S. Short does not mean bad :)**

**Disclaimer: No Jonas ownership here. Well, except for It's About Time, Jonas Brothers, Bonus Jonas, and 3 copies of A Little Bit Longer. Don't ask why I have 3.**

Nick awoke, the moonlight still shining in through the window. Immediately, he felt something was wrong. He turned over and knew what it was.

She was gone.

His mind automatically jumped to the most horrible conclusions he could think of.

Someone climbed in the eighth story window and took her.

She was suicidal.

She had decided to hitchhike back to Malibu.

She had been abducted by aliens.

Finally, Nick got a hold of himself. She was probably fine.

He thought for a second, closing his eyes, and suddenly, it was obvious.

He looked to the corner, where his ebony Gibson was MIA. He turned his head to face the door wall. The door was open to the cold night air and the sounds of music being played were lilting through the door.

He got out of bed and slowly approached the music. He could recognize the melody as one of his favorite songs, 'Good Year For The Roses' by Elvis Costello. He stood inside, hoping to stay hidden long enough to hear a few more songs.

The mystic voice sang as if she was reading his mind. 'When Doves Cry' by Prince, 'Crazy' by Patsy Cline, 'Love Me For a Reason' by The Osmonds, 'Words' by the Bee Gees. She finally settled into another classic.

He had always admired Johnny Cash, sometimes wishing he could encompass the presence that the Man in Black demanded. The legend that was once human.

The way his legend lived still, even after his death, was something Nick doubted he would ever have. Even at his funeral, Johnny's daughter was able to find the perfect way to say goodbye to her father.

_There's a cross above the baby's bed,  
A Savior in her dreams.  
But she was not delivered then,  
And the baby became me.  
There's a light inside the darkened room,  
A footstep on the stair.  
A door that I forever close,  
To leave those memories there._

So when the shadows link them,  
Into an evening sun.  
Well first there's summer, then I'll let you in.  
September when it comes

Nick stepped out on the balcony, surprising Lilly enough that her playing faltered for a second. He started singing as low as he could, difficult for his vocal register, into Johnny's part.

_I plan to crawl outside these walls,  
Close my eyes and see.  
And fall into the heart and arms,  
Of those who wait for me.  
I cannot move a mountain now;  
I can no longer run.  
I cannot be who I was then:  
In a way, I never was._

I watch the clouds go sailing;  
I watch the clock and sun.  
Oh, I watch myself, depending on,  
September when it comes

Lilly was caught in his voice, almost missing her cue. She quickly swore under her breath before he sat down and nudged her. Even though her fingers were moving almost robotically to the song, she had trouble picking up, but Nick wasn't letting her give up.

Her voice began to blend with his, as she finally gave in to the song; needing to hear it the way it was supposed to be.

_So when the shadows link them,  
And burn away the clouds.  
They will fly me, like an angel,  
To a place where I can rest.  
When this begins, I'll let you know,  
September when it comes._

Nick smiled; knowing the impromptu sing along had brought them even closer. The smile melted away though as the realization stuck.

Lilly was becoming worse than that puppy in the pet shop window. You fall for it so fast then you end up on the edge of tears when your mom drags you away.

Just as he was thinking this, she let her head fall onto his shoulder. She had already carefully set the guitar next to her. It was in that moment that Nick realized he was going to do something he'd regret later.

He was going to let her. And in the process, he knew he was weakening himself for the fall, but he couldn't help it.

He looked down at her eyes which were staring at the glow of the sunrise. He carefully placed his hand on her crossed knee. Her eyes flitted to his, and without even communicating what had to be done, their lips met in the middle.

It was short and sweet. If the spark hadn't been so strong, it would've hardly been called a kiss. One hand lingered on her face.

When she slowly pulled away, his hand still hovered over her cheek. She let it hang there for a few seconds before kissing his cheek and standing up.

They took one last long look at each other before she went inside, leaving him and the guitar on the balcony.

He reached for it, letting his fingers run along the strings. He let his attention stay on his fingertips.

Unavoidably though, his thoughts fell upon the issue at hand. Today was their last day together.

Nick still wasn't sure what to do. He wanted so badly to do the right thing, the thing he had set out to do. He should take her home, leaving nothing but MAYBE an e-mail address. He should go back home and forget about what they had had. Their little fling would only be a memory.

He cringed at the thought. A fling? What they had couldn't be called a fling, could it? What he felt for her…

And that is why he had such a hard time avoiding what he wanted to do. He wanted to keep her for himself; take her back with him to Los Angeles.

God, he thought, I'm like the Phantom of the Opera or something. She's so amazing; I want to keep her for myself. But, I can't…

Nick looked through the glass pane. He could see her in the other room, making coffee. She had changed back into what she had been wearing when they first met. He had the suspicion that his shirt would be awaiting him in his bag.

If he could only separate from her that easily.

He looked back down at the lifeless guitar in his hands. He slowly placed his fingers along the fret board, and, as quietly as possible, picked the strings.

In a low voice, he started to sing.

_Now I'm speechless, over the edge  
I'm just breathless  
I never thought that I'd catch this love bug again  
Hopeless, head over heels in the moment  
I never thought that I'd get hit by this love bug again_

**-FREEDOM-**

Lilly could hear the crickets chirping as Nick cut the engine. The familiar Malibu air caught her off guard. She didn't want it now.

The Malibu air meant that it was time.

Her mother had left the front porch light on, whether intentionally to welcome her, or one of her infamous blonde moments Lilly wasn't sure.

Lilly got off the bike, grabbing her bag and silently hoping that Nick would at least walk her to her door. He complied, not wanting to leave her yet.

They got to the doorstep, at a loss for words. Neither was prepared for this moment.

Both had something they wanted to say, but they both held back. Four days wasn't long enough to utter those words, unless your name was Romeo or Juliet, but we all know how well that ended. They both held back, leaving the words on the tip of their tongues and in the glint of their eyes.

They shared one last embrace, uttering a last goodbye before Lilly unlocked the door and went into the house, forcing every step. She ran up to her room, the one her mom kept for her anyway, and looked out the window, waiting to hear the thrum of the motor as he drove off with that piece of her heart.

Nick sat on his bike and watched for the light to go on upstairs. It was followed by her figure, crossing the room to look out the window.

Their eyes met, and two hearts simultaneously shattered. Nick's breath got caught in his throat as he forced himself to turn around.

Lilly watched as he pulled away, knowing that her heart was going with him. She threw herself onto the bed, trying to keep up the dam that was holding back a torrent of tears.

She looked around the room, the one that hadn't been touched since she was a teenager, and saw his face staring back at her. With a sickening groan, the torrent was unleashed as she clung to the teddy bear on the bed, the one with skinny jeans and a tie named Nick.

Finally as the torrent started to weaken, she wiped the salty tears from her cheeks. She convinced herself that sleep would help her aching heart.

As she lay there, knowing that sleep would come later rather than sooner, she could feel the emptiness of the bed without him beside her, and weak tears started to fall again.

He was gone.


	5. Heartache

**Alright, I can't keep them apart for long, but Nick does NOT appear in this chapter. But someone else does…**

**Thanks for the awesome reviews guys! Plz keep it up :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Nick, or Frankie, or Joe. Kevin on the other hand…kidding. But I wish I owned Kevin. He's the cute romantic one. Like you guys don't know that :)**

* * *

Is this what being emo feels like? Lilly thought as she stared at the bottom of her fourth pint of Cherry Garcia. It had been 17 days, 14 hours, and 7 minutes since Nick had left her.

Since then, it had been nothing but heartache and self pity. She hadn't left the house, or her pajamas for that matter, since that first morning.

Miley had come over, her mom had called her. Lilly really needed to talk to her mom more often. Someone had forgotten to give her the memo that she and Miley weren't best friends anymore.

Oliver came over too, but he was a guy and didn't know how to help. He let her cry on his shoulder a little, tried to give her a pep talk, but it didn't work.

Nothing worked, at all. No matter what she did she couldn't shake him. And she was convinced that he'd already shaken her and moved on.

He was Nick Jonas for crying out loud. He would write a song and be over it. That's just how it worked.

Oh look, 17 days, 14 hours, and 9 minutes.

Her mom seemed to understand, she had gone through a bad divorce, but was starting to become apathetic as the weeks wore on. Lilly couldn't help but think that her mom staged a victory parade every time she left the house for work. She could be away from her little emo daughter for at least a little while.

Lilly was alone in the house, which really didn't help the whole lonely emo vibe. She had the TV, finally settling on music videos.

Those first few days she had settled on daytime soaps. The problem was, she started to get really into it and started crying and blubbering about how Paulo left Regina to go have an affair with that bimbo Tiffany.

After a few days of that, she gained the mentality to change the channel. But still, the loneliness wore on her.

The doorbell rang, and for that single instant, she thought it was Nick, returning for her, able to face what they had and…

But then she realized that it was probably one of her many concerned friends or relatives, or the UPS guy. Nick wasn't going to come back, just like she wasn't going to go to him.

Being stubborn is the end of too many perfectly good relationships.

She got up, the empty carton of ice cream still in hand, and went to the door. The linoleum tile was cold on her bare feet as she crossed the foyer. She could see whoever it was through the filmy glass panels next to the door, no one she recognized, and definitely not the UPS guy.

She opened the door, revealing a teenage boy in skinny jeans and one of those tight Urban Outfitters shirts, covered with a black leather jacket. His hair was sporting a Joe-, sorry, faux-hawk. She looked to his brown eyes and realized his identity.

"Uh, Frankie?"

He seemed somewhere between surprise and smugness that she recognized him, then again, it seemed to Lilly that all the Jonas boys emitted that smug aura.

"Franklin Nathaniel Jonas, at your service," his eyes flitted between her 'A Little Bit Longer' shirt, the one she'd worn since the 'break-up', and the empty carton in her hands. "You must be Lilly."

She nodded and opened the door wider, ushering him in. She pointed to the living room before running upstairs to change into something a little less…gross.

When she came back down, Frankie was flipping through the Rolling Stone she'd left on the coffee table. The one she'd gotten out of storage to look at the hot picture of Nick on a motorcycle. Now she was embarrassed that his cocky teenage brother had found it.

She stayed standing, trying to figure out what to say. She didn't know why he was even here? Had Nick sent him? No, if Nick had wanted to tell me something, he would have come himself.

"So, Frankie, why are you here?" she asked.

He looked up, noticing for the first time she was there. He stood up too.

"Actually, can we take a walk? I need to say something, but it smells like moping in here."

Lilly laughed, for the first time in almost 3 weeks. She grabbed a sweater from the hook by the door and shoved on her slip-on Vans.

As they started to walk, neither spoke. Lilly had nothing to say, and Frankie didn't know how to say what he needed to. She just started to observe things, stupid things.

He was taller than her, even though he was a decade younger. His faded red high-tops looked almost as old as he was. His black jacket looked almost exactly like a Thriller jacket, just black. He looked eerily like Kevin did during the It's About Time days.

Frankie finally decided that saying this the wrong way was better than not saying it at all.

"So, you love my brother?" he started, waiting for shock-value. He still didn't know if she'd admit it to him, seeing as she'd refused to admit it to his stubborn older brother.

She looked up at him for a second, before going back to analyzing the pavement under their feet.

"Yes," she said quietly, as if it wasn't meant to be registered by human ears. Frankie was able to catch it anyway.

"You do? You do! That's awesome! I just wish I could have told Nick that, like, two weeks ago."

"What do you mean? Nick still cares about me?" Lilly said, stopping mid-step. Frankie took a few more steps before stopping to come back for her.

"Seriously? That's like, the understatement of the millennium. He's so broken up, it's depressing. Why do you think I'm here?"

"I just thought he'd write a song and be over it," she said, slowly starting to walk again.

"That's the thing. He can't even write he's so torn up. It's never been this bad. He's always been able to get his feelings out through his music, and he just…can't. He's resorted to old Johnny Cash songs and some of the old band music. One Day at a Time, You Just Don't Know It, the real emo ones. I'm worried about him."

"So, he talks about me? Is that why you're here?"

"No, I'm here because everyone knows he hides his diary with his precious socks," Frankie said, smirking as he pulled a leather-bound book out of his jacket.

He opened it up and found a beginning and end place. There were a good hundred pages between his fingers.

"See this? This is all about you," he said, trying to convince himself as he tried to convince her.

"You're not serious."

"Oh, aren't I?" he opened it and started to read. "_Her eyes are like water, but not regular water, like, the Great Lakes on a sunny day, or the Caribbean waters lapping against the side of a sailboat_," he turned a page. "_And when we kissed, it was like nothing I'd ever felt before. It was like being hit by a thousand bolts of lightning at the same time, but with an intense thrill to it, one I couldn't ignore_," He turned the page once again, looking up at her to see if she was ready for this one.

"_I can't sleep. I feel so alone without her next to me, in my arms. I don't think I can survive without her. I'm starting to realize that I left my heart in Malibu, and I'm not sure if I will ever get it back. Now I can admit what I couldn't tell her, but it's too late. It's too late to tell her how much I love her, heart and soul. Too late to tell her I can't live without her. Too late to tell her that it's hurting me to go on without her._"

Frankie stopped there, looking up to see her wipe a tear from her eye.

"He loves me?" she asked, needing it confirmed by someone outside of her own mind.

"More than anything. He needs you, Lilly," Frankie answered, placing a comforting arm across her shoulders.

"Then why didn't he come here himself? Why did you come instead of him?"

"Lilly, you need to realize how much of an introvert he's become. My parents have had me sleeping on Nick's couch for two weeks as sort of a suicide watch. I was tired of seeing him fall to pieces, so I stole his diary, stole his phone, found your address, and decided to take matters into my own hands. I can't see him like this. I shared a room with him for fourteen years, and then he and I were the only ones who still lived in L.A. I can't watch him wither away like this anymore."

As they rounded the corner, they faced the front of the house again. He turned to her and took something out of his pocket.

He folded the flyer into her hand. She read it.

**The Palace Theatre**

**Presents:**

**Flypaper**

**With Special Guest:**

**Nick Jonas of the Jonas Brothers**

"My band has a show tomorrow night at 8. I've convinced Nick to sing a song, get him out of his stupor. I was hoping you'd come."

Lilly looked down at the pink paper, the tiny picture of Nick in the corner, and nodded.

"And I was wondering, in the diary, Nick said you were musical, that you sang and stuff. I was hoping you would sing a song, you know, to surprise Nick. We don't have an opening act, and Nick would only agree to one song, so you would be helping me out anyway. Please?"

She looked up, hoping he wasn't serious, but she could tell that he was. Could she? She hadn't sung in front of an audience…ever, and she hadn't been on stage forever. But he had done so much for her, could she really turn down so simple a request?

"Sure, I guess. But don't blame me if your audience runs for the hills when they hear me," she said, folding the flyer and putting it in her pocket.

"If Nick has confidence in your ability, so do I. Plus, what more could I ask for in a future sister-in-law?"

Lilly raised her eyebrows to him, watching his mischievous smirk appear.

"Alright, I need to get back to him. You know, suicide watch and all. Well, that, and I'm sure he's missing his diary. I guess I'll see you tomorrow."

He hugged her, in a brotherly way, and turned to go back to his car.

"How do you know I won't stand you up?" she yelled at his back as he opened the car door.

He turned to face her, and gave her a look that said 'you have got to be kidding', before he got into the car and drove off.

Lilly pulled the flyer out of her pocket and looked at it again. She had agreed to sing at this stupid thing, but what the heck was she going to sing? Every song she thought of was shot down within seconds.

Then she got it.

She looked down at the flyer one more time, the picture in the corner, and folded it up. Maybe this would work out after all.

* * *

**Ugh, why must I be such a die-hard romantic? I can't even keep them apart for a whole chapter. Oh well, I saw The Notebook yesterday, let's blame that. And my brother laughed at the end. I was sobbing and he had the nerve to laugh! I hate having a 13-year-old brother. Anyway, I hope you like my attempt at an emo chapter. I enjoyed writing it, especially Frank the Tank. So, yeah, I'm about to post another Nilly oneshot, if you want to read it. Absolute fluff. K, long A/N. So, plz review!**


	6. Bliss

**This kinda makes me sad. This is the last REAL chapter of Freedom. I think I might write an epilogue type thing though. I guess it's been a good ride though. Wow, that was a bad pun. So, I hope you guys approve.**

**Disclaimer: Still don't own the Jonas Brothers. Darn.**

Why must I be so nervous? Like seriously, this is not a big deal. Well, you know, except for the fact that if I screw this up, Nick will never know how I feel, and I will live a lonely spinster life surrounded by cats. God, I love being an optimist.

That's what Lilly was thinking as she sat in the broom closet that Frankie had assured her was a dressing room. She stared at the reflection in the mirror, so unlike the one that had faced her a month ago. This girl was nowhere near as sure as herself as the other girl was. This girl was deathly afraid of getting her heart broken again.

She straightened her dress, the blue one she had gotten in Iowa from Rose. She had put a soft, gray, button-down sweater over it. It accentuated curves that she shouldn't have, thank you Cherry Garcia.

Her makeup looked okay, considering she had almost forgotten how to put it on after moping in the house for so long. Her hair was, well, it was what it was.

She heard a knock on the door, and, assuming it was Frankie, seeing as this was a top-secret performance, told them to come in.

Frankie looked good, in a younger brother sort of, I'm glad he's not embarrassing himself, way. Skinny jeans, bright blue T-shirt. Hot little emo teen; the girls in the audience were going to love it. Lilly remembered back when she'd been one of those girls. She'd never thought she'd be here.

"So, you ready?" he asked, looking around, realizing that he'd actually put her in a broom closet.

"No. I'm taking it back. He's the guy, he has to come find me. This relationship should not be on my shoulders."

"Ah-ah-ah, no breaking of the copper rule in the broom closet," he said, knowing that at least he thought he was funny.

"Can I go break it out there?" Lilly asked, half-seriously, turning toward the door.

"But isn't Nick out there?"

"Touché," Lilly said, turning back to the mirror. She started fidgeting with her hair.

She felt two strong hands holding her shoulders and his eyes met hers in the mirror.

"You look great. Nick is lucky to have you," he said, trying to up her confidence level.

"And I though Nick was supposed to be the cute sensitive one," she said, smiling weakly.

"Oh, baby. I'm all three. They don't call me the Bonus Jonas for nothing," she continued to look worried. "Hey, you can do this."

"Alright, I just need a minute," she said, wishing she could be as sure of herself as Frankie was.

"Sure, of course. Nick's going to go on first. I think you might want to see him," Frankie said, all too knowingly for a kid still in high school.

"Thank you Frankie, for everything," Lilly said earnestly. He nodded before slipping through the door.

Lilly took one more look through the mirror. The eyes staring back at her showed a glimmer of hope. She could do anything, especially if it got Nick back. She only hoped that she was better at this than Miley had told her.

-FREEDOM-

"Nick, you're going to be fine. You've done this hundreds, thousands of times before. This is not new," Frankie tried to encourage his older brother as he was about to take the stage.

"I haven't done this in so long. Plus, back then, my biggest issue was my blood sugar. I have bigger things on my mind right now," he said nervously. Trying to be discreet, he sniffed the Johnny Cash T-shirt that still managed to smell like Lilly.

"That's why you have to do it. You have to forget about her," Nick looked at him critically, "For like a second, then you can go back to moping, okay?"

Nick nodded once. Frankie handed him his guitar before following him out on stage. The audience applauded, most of them original Jonas Brothers fans, and it empowered Nick.

He approached the mike-stand, taking a deep breath, trying to push her from his mind if for only a second, knowing that it was impossible.

"Hey everybody, I'm Nick Jonas. Uh, I wrote this song more than ten years ago, when I was fifteen, but I don't think I ever really knew the meaning of it until recently. Uh, this is to Lilly, the one I let slip away."

Even though Nick couldn't see it, behind the curtain, Lilly gasped.

Nick slowly started to sing:

_You warned me that you were gonna leave  
Never thought you would really go__ fool  
And I didn't deserve you_

_I was blind  
But baby now I see  
Broke your heart  
But now I know  
That I was being such a_

_I don't wanna fall asleep  
Cause I don't know if I'll get up  
And I don't wanna cause a scene  
But I'm dyin' without your love  
Beggin' hear your voice  
Tell me you love me too  
'Cause I'd rather just be alone  
If I know that I can't have you_

_Looking at the letter you that you left  
(The letter that you left, will I ever get you back?)  
Wondering if I'll ever get you back  
Dreaming about when I'll see you next  
(When will I see you next? Will I ever get you back?)  
Knowing that I never will forget  
(I won't forget, I won't forget)_

_That I was being such a fool  
That I still don't deserve you_

_I don't wanna fall asleep  
Cause I don't know if I'll get up  
And I don't wanna cause a scene  
But I'm dyin' without your love  
Beggin' hear your voice  
Tell me you love me too  
'Cause I'd rather just be alone  
If I know that I can't have you_

_So tell me what we're fighting for  
'Cause you know that truth means so much more  
'Cause you would if you could  
Don't lie_

_'Cause I'd give everything that I've got left  
To show you I mean what I have said  
I know I was such a fool  
But I can't live without you_

_I don't wanna fall asleep  
Cause I don't know if I'll get up  
And I don't wanna cause a scene  
But I'm dyin' without your love  
Beggin' hear your voice  
Tell me you love me too  
'Cause I'd rather just be alone  
If I know that I can't have you_

For the last refrain, he could only whisper the words. No matter how hard he tried, he had to force them. He could feel tears lying heavy on the back of his eyelids, but he had to finish the song.

_I don't wanna fall asleep  
Cause I don't know if I'll get up  
And I don't wanna cause a scene  
But I'm dyin' without your love  
Beggin' hear your voice  
Tell me you love me too  
'Cause I'd rather just be alone  
If I know that I can't have you_

He could barely hear the applause over the throbbing of his heart. He was about to break down, but he couldn't do it here, on stage. Instead, he leapt into the crowd, pushing his way toward the back of the crowded room.

"Nick, wait!" his brother yelled. "Please Nick, stop!"

Nick ignored his brother's pleas, continuing to push until he was almost to the doors. Then he was stopped in his tracks.

"Nick, I did not come all the way from Malibu for you to run away again!"

He spun around to see his brother looking shocked to the edge of the stage, where Lilly must have been peeking from behind the curtain.

Lilly realized that she had lost the element of surprise and grabbed the guitar that Frankie handed her. He not so much handed to her as she pried it from his frozen grip.

"Hi, everybody…uh…yeah…I'm Lilly, Lilly Truscott…from the last song…yeah…so, um, I'm gonna sing a song…yeah…"

She stumbled for a second, trying to finger the chords and failing horribly, but she watched as the crowd parted like the red sea and she had no choice but to start singing.

She started slow, dropping the tempo so badly that the band had to almost drop out, but she was convinced that baby steps were necessary if she was ever going to get to the end of the song.

_Maybe I'm wrong, you decide  
Should of been strong, yeah I lied  
Nobody gets me like...you_

_Couldn't keep hold of you then  
How could I know what you meant  
There was nothing to compare to_

_There's a mountain between us  
But there's one thing I'm sure of  
That I now how I feel about you_

By now she had caught up, empowered by the lyrics, but she still didn't have the nerve to look down into the eyes that she knew were her weakness. If she was ever going to finish the song, she had to acknowledge everyone but him.

_  
Can we bring yesterday back around?  
Cause I know how I feel about you now  
I was dumb, I was wrong, I let you down  
But I know how I feel about you now_

_All that it takes, one more chance  
Don't let our last kiss be our last  
I'm out of my mind, just to show you_

_I know everything changes  
I don't care where it takes us  
Cause I know how I feel about you_

_Can we bring yesterday back around?  
Cause I know how I feel about you now  
I was dumb, I was wrong, I let you down  
But I know how I feel about you now_

_Not a day, pass me by  
Not a day, pass me by  
When I don't think about you  
And as though, moving on  
Cause I know, you're the one  
And I can't be without you_

_Can we bring yesterday back around?  
Cause I know how I feel about you now  
I was dumb, I was wrong, I let you down  
But I know how I feel about you now_

Lilly finally gained the courage to look down. As soon as their eyes met, she started to stutter. Frankie cut the band, but the song went on. Another, stronger voice joined Lilly's. As Nick got back on stage, Lilly finally got the song back, playing it acoustically. Their voices harmonized as they brought the chorus back around one last time.

_  
Can we bring yesterday back around?  
Cause I know how I feel about you now  
I was dumb, I was wrong, I let you down  
But I know how I feel about you now_

_But I know how I feel about you now  
Yeah I know how I feel about you now_

As soon as the last note was finished, they were in each other's arms, as if they'd never been apart, but at the same time, as if they'd been apart for a thousand years.

Nick held her as tight as he could, leaning down to her ear to whisper, "I love you. I'm never gonna let you leave me again. You're mine forever."

She was almost taken aback by his possessiveness, but it comforted her to know he'd never leave her again. She whispered back, "Okay."

He grinned before forcing three weeks of emotions into one hard, passionate kiss. When they pulled away, completely out of breath, they were aware the cheering, finally remembering that they weren't alone.

Frankie tapped his brother on the shoulder, pointing backstage. Nick got the memo and pulled Lilly behind the curtain, kissing her one more time before sprinting toward the stage door.

She giggled as he straddled the bike that was steps away from the door. She got on, holding him tightly, not so much for protection as sheer contact, and they rode off into the sunset.

-FREEDOM-

Frankie finally pulled into the parking lot at 2:30 AM. He dragged his guitar case up the three floors to Nick's apartment. The nerve of that stupid landlord, taking three months to fix the elevator.

The bike had been downstairs, in its usual parking spot, so Frankie assumed that his brother had made good time taking Lilly back to Malibu, or had dropped her back off at the Palace.

He finally found the door to the apartment and tried to turn the knob. How lovely of his brother to leave it unlocked, the ungrateful bastard. He leaned the heavy guitar and even heavier amp on his knee and struggled to find his key. He finally found the jagged piece of metal in the bottom of the back pocket of his extremely tight pants and opened the door.

All the lights were off, but the T.V. was on. Frankie could tell that it was The Notebook, I mean, he had watched it like fourteen times, I mean that one time on his date's birthday, yeah.

Frankie set the keys on the counter gently, and dumped his equipment near the door. He walked over to turn the T.V. off and found his brother on the couch. She was leaning against his shoulder and they were both asleep.

He turned the T.V. off, aware that his brother was an extremely light sleeper, and turned to see the older man eyeing him groggily.

"Tank?"

"Yeah. I thought you were gonna take her home?"

"I thought against it," Nick said, smirking like he had this big obnoxious secret.

"You asked her, didn't you?" Frankie asked, knowing his brother too well,

"Yeah. She said yes," he continued smugly.

"Wow, shocker. Guess what that means? I'm taking your bed," Frankie said, walking toward the bedroom.

"Hey, Tank!" he turned. "Thank you."

Nick looked back down at his fiancé in his arms, then up at his brother again. The young man nodded before walking into the bedroom.

Nick gently kissed her forehead, swept her bangs back from her face, and started to hum:

_**God only knows what I**__**'d be without you  
If you should ever leave me  
Though life would still go on believe me  
The world could show nothing to me  
So what good would living do me  
God only knows what I'd be without you**_

_-'God Only Knows' by the Beach Boys_


	7. Happily Ever After

**Ah, the finality of it all. This is the final installment of Freedom. Enjoy!**

Lilly could hear the incessant tapping on the tabletop. She could hear it over the ticking of the clock and the scratching of the pen on the stack of envelopes in front of her. She reached across the table and grabbed the hand that was causing he endless tapping.

"This would be a lot easier if you would help me instead of making me insane," Lilly said, staring down her current nemesis.

"Isn't sending out the engagement announcements the woman's job? I don't even know why we have to send them out." He said, as innocently as he could manage.

"That was extremely sexist for such a sensitive guy. Or should I say, that was a horrible excuse for such a lazy guy. We have to send them out because most of these people didn't believe me when I said I was marrying a Jonas Brother, so it's your fault."

He shook his head, knowing that she made absolutely no sense, and tried not to laugh.

Noticing his smirk, she took a stack of envelopes and announcements and set them in front of him, "You can lick the envelopes."

She looked up again to see him smirking and making wildcat noises, "That sounds hot."

"Ooh, he's cheating on me with glue. The nerve! Are you seriously going to be like this until the wedding?"

"Oh, hon. I'm gonna be like this for the rest of our lives, and you're going to put up with every second of it," he said, getting up and moving to her side of the table.

She continued to write the addresses on the bleached envelopes, even when she felt strong arms around her waist and hot breath on her neck. She started to giggle like a schoolgirl as his gentle lips grazed her neck.

"Ew, PDA!" they heard as a teenage boy pulled out the empty seat between them.

"Hello Franklin," Nick groaned as he had to pull away from Lilly. He walked back over to his seat, but didn't take his eyes off of her.

"I am not a turtle! But you must be Casper, I mean, you're completely transparent right now."

"What do you mean?" Nick said, finally tearing his eyes away from hers to look at his brother.

"You don't want this wedding," he said matter-of-factly. Both Lilly and Nick looked up in shock.

"Of course I do! I can't wait to be married to Lilly," Nick said, a little too loudly.

"Don't twist my words. I said you didn't want the wedding, not the marriage. Mom and Heather are planning this big wedding, and you don't want any of it. Neither does Lilly. Why are you doing all of this?"

"What do you mean not have a wedding? Everybody has a wedding," Lilly said, not able to find a real reason.

"You guys know that you have never been like everybody else."

He picked up the engagement announcement and gave it to Nick. There was a picture of the two of them on it, lying in the grass. Lilly was wearing bright blue sunglasses and laughing, and Nick was just smiling, looking at her. It was perfect.

Nick looked up at Frankie, communicating almost telepathically.

"Uncle Frank," Nick said. Frankie nodded.

"Excuse me, who?" Lilly asked, utterly confused.

Nick reached out for her hand.

"Lilly, I would marry you this second, no questions asked, but I'm a guy. This will hopefully be your only wedding. If you want to do the whole, white dresses & pink roses deal, I'll be waiting at the end of the aisle, a smile on my face."

"Nick, you know I don't want any of that. I just want you."

A grin spread across his face, "We have an Uncle Frank—"

"He's not really our uncle," Frankie added. Nick glared at him.

"Anyway, he and our dad went to college together. Frankie is actually named after him. And he's an ordained minister in Vegas."

"Are you suggesting we elope?"

Neither man answered her, but their smiles were telling.

"Our mother's are going to kill us. They were already about to decide on the cake. It may not matter to you, but I'm an only child. My mom's only going to do this once."

"So is this a no?" Nick asked, trying not to sound disappointed.

"No, this is a 'find a way to keep me from feeling guilty'."

"How about this, we get married in Vegas, spend the night at the Wyckoff, spend a few weeks in Iowa, then come back and have a lovely reception for our mother's and all the put out second cousins four times removed we can fit?"

"Sounds perfect," she said, suddenly feeling excited. If all went well, within twenty-four hours she'd be Mrs. Nick Jonas. It sent a wave of butterflies fluttering through her abdomen.

"Tank, can you cover for us?" Nick asked, turning to his brother. Lilly had almost forgotten he was there.

"I can give you a good couple hours before anyone knows you're gone then I'll hold off all the missing posters. Or I could take the reward and get that new amp…" he said, rambling on. By the time he stopped, Lilly and Nick were across the room about to go out the door.

"How rude!" he said jokingly before smiling. "Good luck guys. Have fun."

He said the last part suggestively to his brother.

Nick rolled his eyes before staring his brother down, "Thanks Frank. I think you've taken over the leader role. Tell me, what am I now?"

"The one who talks too much," Frankie said, kind of taken aback by the statement. "Go on, you have an alter waiting."

He and his brother shared one last smile before the door closed, signally the end of a chapter in their lives.

Frankie smirked that knowing smirk. He was the last single Jonas. He was the leader, Nick had said so. The recognition of his older brother could have driven him to tears, but he was too happy to cry.

There was a knock on the door of the apartment. He got up to answer. It was his apartment too after all. He'd moved in with his brother after graduation.

At the door was an amazing girl, no joke. Frankie reached down and pinched his arm, just to make sure. She was still there.

"Um, hey, I'm not sure I'm at the right place. I'm looking for my cousin, Lilly. She told me to meet her here. My name is Abby."

She reached out her hand for him to shake, but he was lost in her deep blue eyes and delayed his introduction for a few seconds, "Uh, Frankie. Your cousin is marrying my brother."

"Hey that's cool! Is she here?"

"Actually, she and Nick went off somewhere," he said, leaning against the doorway for balance.

"Damn, she was supposed to help me unpack. I'm starting at UCLA this year, but my family lives in Vermont, so they couldn't exactly come. Lilly was going to help, but I guess…"

"I could help! I mean, uh, I'm not doing anything, right now, if you needed, you know, a heavy lifter, or something," he said, trying his hardest to be coherent.

"Actually, that would be great, but I'd have to pay you."

"No. A gentleman doesn't let ladies carry heavy things."

"I could pay for pizza?"

"I don't let girls pay for dinner either."

She smirked, "How about this? There's a new movie out I wanted to see. You pay for the tickets, I buy popcorn?"

This time Frankie felt like he couldn't say no.

"Deal"

-FREEDOM-

'Oh Elvis, the things you must have seen last night…' Nick thought as the afternoon sunshine drove into the room.

Nick looked down at the girl in his arms. Lilly was still asleep. She could sleep forever, but he didn't mind. She was his forever anyway.

He pulled her closer to him and smiled. He started humming along to a song he couldn't recall the words to.

He heard her grunt, finally waking up. He watched her face to see the realization cross it.

"Good morning Mrs. Jonas," he said, brushing her hair back from her face.

Lilly's eyes fluttered open, her eyes meeting his, "Morning."

He leaned down and kissed her on the nose. She smiled, wiping the crust from her eyes.

"How long have you been awake?"

"Not long. I was just watching you sleep."

"Creeper!"

"Well, you're the one who married a creeper."

"That's right, we're married aren't we? Weird isn't it? Us, married."

"I know, next we'll have to get a pet. What about a poodle?" he asked, smirking.

"That's not funny," she said, slightly embarrassed.

"I thought it was," he said, still smiling.

"Obviously. I was trying to be all sensual and sexy and you couldn't stop laughing."

"I'm sorry", he said, letting a single finger wander along her jaw. "I made up for it, didn't I?"

She giggled, unable to stay miffed, "A couple times actually."

"Wanna try again?" he said, rolling over to lean over her suggestively. Just as she was about to answer, his phone started to vibrate on the table next to the bed.

"I don't want to get that," he said, leaning toward his lips.

She put her hand between them, "What if it's your parents?"

He groaned, "Why did I have to marry the girl with a conscience?"

Nick rolled out of bed, searching for his boxers which he'd tossed last night. For the life of him he couldn't…found them, on the lamp next to the bed. Huh.

He threw them on and answered the phone, grabbing his jeans off the floor on the way to the balcony. He put the phone between his shoulder and his ear as he tried to get his jeans on without dropping it.

"Hello?" he answered, letting out a huge yawn.

"Good morning starshine, the world says hello! Someone had a late night I assume?" he heard Frankie say, almost seeing the smirk on his face as he said it.

"Is that really any of your business?"

"No, but at least now I know the answer. My brother the sex machine. I hope you're married…"

"Of course, Uncle Frank's kids were the witnesses and everything. We almost went with one of those Elvis impersonators though, just for the heck of it."

"Yeah, they are," it sounded like he was talking away from the phone.

"Who are you talking to?"

"Just mom, she wanted to make sure…"

"How long have you been in the room with her?"

"For the whole conversation. Why?"

"You called me a sex machine in front of our mother?"

"Huh, I guess I did. Maybe she didn't hear it," Nick could hear mumbling on the other side of the line. "Oh, I guess she did. Whoops. I'm gonna go hide in the bathroom now."

He heard the door slide behind him and he turned around to see Lilly in his button-down shirt from last night.

"So that's where my shirt went," he said, thinking out loud.

"Where?" Frankie asked.

"On my wife," he took in a breath, clearly audible from the other side of the world.

"With nothing but your T-Shirt on…It still creeps me out that you guys share clothes. Just please don't start wearing her jeans."

"Lilly, remind me to wear a pair of your jeans home."

She looked up, speaking for the first time since she'd come outside.

"I'm hoping that's not your mother…"

"Frankie"

"Tell him I say hi."

"Lilly says hi."

"Is she right there? Put it on speaker."

"Hey Lilly, your cousin Abby showed up yesterday right after you left."

"Crap, I forgot all about that. We were supposed to help her move into her dorm last night. I have shitty timing don't I?"

"That's okay; she had a big strong man to help her."

"What? Is Joe home?" Nick couldn't help but snicker at his wife's biting wit.

He still turned off the speaker before his brother uttered some choice words.

"Did I mention that Abby stayed over last night? Her roommate hadn't arrived yet, and she didn't want to be alone, so I offered…"

"You're crushing on my wife's cousin?"

"You haven't met her. She's…amazing," Nick could almost hear himself in his brother's words.

"I trust you Tank," he paused. "Did I ever tell you I was planning to ask you to be my best man?"

There was silence on the line for a few seconds, "Really?"

"Yeah, really! Who else would I ask?"

"Kevin, or Joe, or the guy who delivers your groceries…"

"Frankie, you know you're not only my brother, you're my best friend. Did I ever mention that?"

"No…you never did. Thanks bro."

Nick could hear his brother holding back tears.

"Alright Tank, I would keep talking to you, but you're not looking at me the way she is…"

He laughed, "Good, because I'm pretty sure that's illegal and immoral. Have fun Prez."

Before Nick could say another word, the line went dead. He turned around to look at Lilly. She was leaning over the balcony, her hair blowing wildly in the breeze. She looked breathtaking. He took a step toward her and she looked up.

"What were you thinking about?"

"It's nothing. Don't worry."

"If you have to say that it was nothing, it must have been something. What is it?"

"I don't know. It's just, whenever I thought of getting married I thought of that first dance, and how magical it would feel. I guess I had to forgo that with the shotgun wedding but…"

Nick had already gone inside toward the stereo. There was a CD of Debussy in and he pushed play. Lilly had only taken one step into the suite, but he glided right over to her, putting her hands around his neck and putting his around her waist. She shook her head it utter frustration of how easily he could sweep her off her feet.

"Lilly, can you possibly have any idea how much I love you right now?"

"I'm can only hope it's anywhere close to how much I love you," she said, smiling.

He wiped the smirk off her face when he bent down to her ear, grazing the lobe, before whispering, "More."


End file.
